''Queen Victoria'' is an oil on canvas painting by German artist

Franz Xaver Winterhalter Franz Xaver Winterhalter (20 April 1805 – 8 July 1873) was a German painter and lithography, lithographer, known for his flattering portraits of royalty and upper-class society in the mid-19th century. His name has become associated with fashio ...

, created in 1843. It depicts British

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

in her young years, at the beginning of her long reign. The work is part of the

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic List of British royal residences, royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King ...

.Queen Victoria, Royal Collection Trust
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History and description

Winterhalter not only painted the official portraits of the British royal house but also dedicated himself to producing private images, as is the case with this work that was commissioned as a surprise gift from

to her husband

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

on the occasion of his twenty-fourth birthday. Albert well appreciated the portrait. Victoria wrote in her journal on 26 August 1843: "I felt so happy and proud to have found something that gave him so much pleasure". The painting was hung in Prince Albert's despatch room at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

. The painting is of small dimensions and depicts the queen in an intimate moment, in a minimally painted white ruffled dress. The only detail of the ornament is the purple ribbon and jewels, a pair of simple earrings, and a heart-shaped pendant on a gold chain. This pendant could be the heart-shaped glass locket containing a lock of Prince Albert's hair that the Queen wore day and night before her wedding. The young Victoria appears with her head lying on a red cushion, with a part of her brown hair half unravelled and falling over her dress, looking to her right with an expectant look. It can be considered that the portrait is an expression of the love she felt for her husband.O. Millar, ''The Victorian Pictures in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen'', Cambridge, 1992, 2 vols.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Queen Victoria (Winterhalter) 1843 paintings Paintings by Franz Xaver Winterhalter Paintings in the Royal Collection of the United Kingdom Paintings of Queen Victoria Portraits of women